• CHAPTER 177 - NEVER

    He could never get rid of me that easily, not so long as I’m still alive.

    My heart was completely torn in two and my stomach churned so much that I felt like vomiting—it was either that or the Vampire baby inside of me. The stomach pain ended up severe enough that I begged Matsuda to see if anything was wrong. It was hard for me to think straight since Kai left me behind just moments ago. When Matsuda had pressed his hands against my stomach, I instantly started thinking of the life growing inside of me and how its father ran off. How would I explain that?

    Once Matsuda had finished checking my abdomen, he stared at me—almost in shock. He never told me what was wrong; instead, he demanded I put a coat on and climb into the car. We made an emergency trip to get an ultrasound at the hospital. I wanted so badly to take Matsuda’s car and go back to Kai but I was still in shock.

    When the ultrasound technologist told me what was wrong—or more like what was up—I couldn’t help but to stare back in shock. Twins. There were two of them inside of me. Maybe that was why I was already starting to show at only seven weeks? But twins? How on earth would I ever survive such a pregnancy?

    When we returned to the mansion, I locked the bedroom door and buried my face in my hands. Not only did I have one, but two of Kai’s children growing inside of me. They would both grow up without a father. I would have to deal with telling both of them that their father left me and that they were half human, half Vampire.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    “Arisa?” I heard Kira call out softly as he creaked the bedroom door open. “Arisa, may I come in?”

    I barely nodded my head, sitting in a ball on the edge of the bed. My heart was torn; all I had been doing for the last few hours was sit in a ball and think. I still couldn’t seem to process the fact that Kai abandoned me just a few hours ago and that I was going to Europe tomorrow—for good. I would never see Kai again; it was all over.

    I felt the bed sink next to me as Kira seated himself. Kira wrapped one arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him, notifying me that I could open up from my ball. I lifted my head and stared at him and I could feel the exhaustion on my face. Kira stared at me in shock for a moment and a tear or two slipped out of my eyes; my eyes and cheeks were numb from crying so I couldn’t tell anymore.

    “Arisa, you look awful,” he used his thumb to wipe off the tears. “You look like death.”

    “I wish I was dead,” I mumbled, burying my face in my arms.

    “Don’t say that,” Kira pleaded. “Don’t put yourself through that; don’t put Kai through that.”

    “Kai doesn’t care anymore,” I hissed. “He abandoned me again; obviously he doesn’t care about me or the baby…babies…” I corrected myself.

    Kira sighed, “Arisa, I don’t know how many times we can drill this into your head, but what Kai is doing is what’s best for you,” he advised. “It was Matsuda who advised him to leave you here; Matsuda and Orihime know what’s best. Moving to Europe is what’s best to keep you alive and safe.”

    “But I won’t be happy,” my voice cracked. “Once I give birth, I’ll never be able to look at the children normally…”

    Kira wrapped his other arm around me, breaking me out of my ball and holding me close to his chest. All I did was grip onto his shirt while embracing him, too exhausted to cry anymore. My feeling of anger towards Kai was stronger than my feeling of sorrow and fear. I was so angry at Kai; the least he could have done was given me a little more warning.

    “My baby brother isn’t a bad person,” Kira whispered while tussling my hair. “Believe me; this situation is corroding him as much as it is you, if not more.”

    I wanted to be alone; I didn’t want anybody to be with me at the moment. I pulled back from Kira but I was still gripping his shirt, “I suppose I’ll start packing my things,” I said in apathetic monotone.

    Kira cupped my left cheek and kissed my forehead, “I apologize,” he pressed his forehead against mine, still cupping my cheek. “If we could avoid this situation, we would.”

    We embraced each other again for another minute or two until Kira stood up and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. I stumbled over to the door and locked it, hoping nobody heard the lock. Leaning against the door, I looked down at my stomach. I pulled my shirt from behind to tighten it against my stomach so I could get a glimpse at the bump. Since I discovered there were two of them, the bump had become more obvious. I lightly traced circles around it and eventually cupped my whole hand against it.

    “Seven more months,” I noted quietly to myself. Seven more months and the babies would be in the world. Seven more months and I’d still be separated from Kai.

    But not if I could help it.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    Separation anxiety was kicking in worse than ever by the time night fell. Once I was sure everybody was asleep—or, at least, not paying attention—I followed the classic tradition of tying up my bed sheets and tying them to the bottom of a flimsy chair. Considering how light I was, I shouldn’t faze the chair at all. I climbed over the edge of the windowsill and slowly started lowering myself, trying not to pound my feet against the side of the house. Kira was the only nocturnal person in the house; he would be the first to spot me.

    I stepped onto the roof of the garage and stood in confusion. I didn’t have enough slack to lower myself from the top of the garage either. I glanced over the edge of the low side of the roof and estimated about an eight-foot drop. It was risky, but I was willing to try. I seated myself and slowly started doing a crab walk towards the end of the roof. My feet draped over the roof and I slid myself a little closer, inch by inch. I finally launched myself off and landed roughly on my feet, tumbling once the shock of pain reached me. I cupped my hand over my mouth, trying not to groan in pain and I wrapped my arm around my stomach to keep the baby—babies—from getting hurt.

    “I’m sorry, you guys,” I whispered to myself, referring to the household. “I refuse to go to Europe. Not like this…”

    I pounced onto my feet, circled the garage, and hid behind the fountain at the front of the house. Kira was probably in the kitchen or the living room; if I were to make one wrong move, he would see me and I would be doomed. Taking one slow step at a time, I started heading away from the house and down the gravel road. The night was dark; there were rain clouds rolling in, covering up the stars and the moon.

    So I took off, walking along side the edge of the ten-mile stretch of a gravel road. It was a ten-mile walk from Matsuda and Orihime’s to Sapporo, and another forty-mile walk from Sapporo to Kai and mine’s house. I wouldn’t imagine I would make it before daytime, but at least I wouldn’t be at Matsuda and Orihime’s. For once in my life, I never imagined I would say I didn’t want to be at Matsuda and Orihime’s. How horrid of me; they were the family who welcomed me with open arms when Kai kidnapped me. They didn’t harm me or mistreat me in the least bit. They were only trying to do what was best for me by sending me to Europe and I was completely blowing them off.

    I took one last look back at the mansion I spent a fraction of my life in and turned back around, walking away from the family who accepted me for who I was.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    By the time I reached the outskirts of Sapporo, my feet were ready to fall off, along with my knees, and legs. The cut on my foot from the mirror really wasn’t treating me nicely. It had taken me a few of hours to finally arrive at Sapporo and the temperature dropped dramatically. I was cold, weak, in pain, heartbroken, and still pregnant. I knew what I was doing was ludicrous, and that Kai would never forgive me, but I refused to leave.

    As soon as I heard a rumble of thunder, I removed my jacket and finally covered my head with it just as it started to pour. I was drenched from head to toe in the rain. With another forty-mile walk to go, I would probably make it in another day—or two with how weak and malnourished I was. Did anybody even notice yet that I was gone?

    Sighing, I turned into an alleyway and walked down about halfway. Alleys weren’t my favorite places to be but I couldn’t just sleep in the middle of a sidewalk or road. My feet were much too beaten and mangled to carry on any further. I felt as though I were a traveler trying to survive in the wild, or even a homeless person just trying to get through the night. I looked next to a dumpster and saw a stack of flattened cardboard against the wall of a building. I took one of the larger slabs and sprawled it on the ground. I couldn’t have cared less if I was sleeping on the ground during a thunderstorm; I was tired. Whatever I was doing surely wasn’t good for the fetuses inside of me, but they were half Vampires; they would survive more things a little better than a human fetus.

    When I finally laid myself down on the soggy cardboard, I gradually started to sob. I felt so alone; I wanted Kai to find me and take me home. If he did find me, would he take me back home or back to Matsuda and Orihime’s?

    “I’m sorry, Kai,” I cried, cradling my stomach.

    .:{{Kai’s Perspective}}:.

    My heart had never shattered so much before until I left Arisa instantaneously at Matsuda and Orihime’s house. I never granted her another word before I disappeared. It wasn’t one of those moments were you could wait to hear what they beckon to you; it was one of those cut-and-run moments. A moment where you couldn’t look back. Arisa was gone; she would be flying to Europe in another day and she would live out the rest of her life in safety, without me.

    One issue, though, was the child Arisa was carrying. I had only just found out about it and I simply abandoned her. She would be raising the child as a single parent; but what was the possibility she would even survive the pregnancy?

    My thoughts were rudely interrupted by my cell phone ringing on the end table. I dismissed myself from watching the rain and I picked up my cell phone, “Yes?”

    “Kai, is Arisa there?” Kira’s voice came over the phone.

    “No, I left her there,” I furrowed my eyebrows together and pursed my lips, holding back the pain corroding me. “Why?”

    “Arisa’s missing,” Kira informed, worried.

    “What?” I gasped into the phone. “When did she leave?”

    “We don’t know; I went to check on her a few minutes ago and the window was open and she was gone.”

    “Goddammit, Kira, you’re supposed to look after her!” I blustered. “She can’t be near me!”

    “Can you at least assist us in looking for her?” Kira halfway hissed. “She’s your lover; you can’t leave her out in the rain while she’s pregnant. The rain concealed her scent, so you’ll have to search thoroughly.”

    I hung up the phone and breathed evenly, attempting to cool my temper. Dammit; I thought I had finally rid Arisa of the danger and she bounces right back into it. I had no choice but to search for her; Kira was right. She was my lover and now the mother of my child; I couldn’t abandon her in such a situation. The more I would think about her and the unborn child, the more my heart would ache and tear.

    I immediately teleported into my car after grabbing the keys, revved the engine and took off at an alarming speed. My mind was running wild with the thoughts ricocheting through my head. How rancid of a lover I was.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    I searched the streets up and down the outskirts of Sapporo and I still couldn’t spot Arisa. If she wasn’t still walking, would she be sleeping? I parked my car on the side of the road and exited, immediately greeted by the downpour once more. I groaned in frustration; with how heavy the rainfall was, it was nearly impossible to track down Arisa’s scent.

    I perked up as soon as the scent of blood pierced the air. Immediately, I recognized the scent and started sprinting to where it was strongest. I took a turn down an alley to see a Vampire hunched over right over my precious, nearly-unconscious Arisa. Instantaneously, my hand grappled around the Vampire’s throat and I hauled him up against the wall of a building. He stared at me in shock for a moment with Arisa’s blood running out of the corner of his mouth and he sighed. Without another word, I dropped the Vampire and he left to victimize somebody else.

    I dropped onto my knees next to Arisa and merely stared at her. She was drenched in rain, sleeping on a soggy cardboard slab, bleeding from the neck, and barely conscious. She was willing enough to run away to find me again, and she was hurt in the process. My hands cupped her wet face and I flinched as the mark on my left wrist started to burn. I ignored the matter and scooped Arisa into my arms; she was running a fever. If she were to stay outside any longer in her condition, she’d surely have died.

    “Stupid girl,” I mumbled under my breath, finally reaching the car and laying her in the back seat.

    My anger was inclining. For the first time ever, I was angry—almost infuriated—at Arisa. The end really was nigh if I were ever angry at her. She was completely ignorant; she should have known better than to run off in the middle of the night during the rain while she was pregnant. I couldn’t allow her to be so reckless, not when her life and the baby’s life were at stake.

    “If you’re going to be a mother…” I ceased and sighed. Rather than give her a lecture while she was unconscious, I drove off back to our house. I’d have taken her to Matsuda and Orihime’s, but I was obligated to speak with her again.